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On Sunday, it was learned that a Chinese scientist had apparently created the first babies in the world to be modified by a gene to protect them from contracting HIV. Although he still has not published all real evidence, scientists around the world were prompt to condemn ethically dubious claims, describing the experience as "deeply troubling", "shocking" and "monstrous". Some even doubted that this was real and suggested that it was a publicity stunt for its many genetics companies.
As if things could not get worse, the university then came out to say that the scientist had become a thug and had conducted the study in secret without his knowledge.
He Jiankui – the brain of the project, born in China and trained in the United States – has now spoken about his work for the first time since the beginning of history. Talk to a top of the genome edition On Wednesday, at the University of Hong Kong, he had the opportunity to defend his actions and give details on the scientific basis of the project.
According to him, a pair of twins having undergone the editing of the gene was born recently. Pregnancy was very much like regular IVF with a difference. When the eggs and sperm were combined, the scientists also added a CRISPR protein that had been "invoked" to modify the CCR5 gene. Disabling this unique gene helps to "shut the door" through which HIV can enter and infect cells, although it should be noted that twins are born healthy and are not infected with HIV.
"For this particular case, I am proud. I am most proud because they had lost all hope of life, "he said when he was challenged by several peers at the conference (live broadcast below).
"I must apologize for the fact that this result was leaked unexpectedly," he added.
When questioned, he even launched this bomb: "There is another one, another potential pregnancy," suggesting that there could be a second pregnancy with genetically modified babies. However, he did not elaborate on this remark.
Overall, he claims to have been greeted by an icy public and a series of questions, as well as numerous accusations of being "irresponsible," which he swept away. At the summit, many scientists also mistrusted security issues related to the use of the CRISPR gene editing, which has been shown to trigger unwanted changes elsewhere in the DNA .
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